District Administration - June 2012 - (Page 51)

Principal Rob Monson, of Parkston Elementary School in South Dakota, gets a big hug from “begindergarten” students, who may not be ready for kindergarten just yet, but are ready after they attend the program. Principal Rob Monson t some level, principals always have been instructional leaders—but never before has their role been more prominent. First, the accountability movement— No Child Left Behind in particular— thrust principals into the spotlight on academic achievement. Then budget cuts peeled away capacity at both the district and school levels, thinning the ranks of assistant superintendents, curriculum specialists and assistant principals, who shouldered some or most of the load. For Beverly Jarrett, principal at Far West High School in the Oakland (Calif.) Unified School District, that has meant an upward creep from 10 hours per day, five days a week when she started five years ago, to 12 to 14 hours per day and one Saturday a month. “You’re never in this place where you can relax. You’re always thinking about the next thing that needs to be done,” she says, recalling an early evening when she ran into a student on the street who said to Jarrett, “I’ve never seen you outside of school.” Says Jarrett with a wry chuckle, “They think I live there.” a Traditionally, principals have been more engaged in management functions, like making sure every student has a desk, the buses are on time and cafeterias are supervised, says Dan Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators. “Often in the larger schools, an assistant principal was clearly designated as an instruction person, or a systemwide curriculum director, or a director of instruction. In the smaller districts, it was the assistant superintendent of instruction.” But now, he adds, if a school doesn’t make adequate yearly progress under NCLB, the principal is held responsible. “With that focus of accountability directly on the principals, they have to step up and assume that [academic leadership] role,” Domenech says. “The reality in most schools was that curriculum was what happened when the teacher went into the class and closed the door,” adds Dick Flannery, senior director of leadership programs and services at the National Association of Secondary School Principals. “There’s no question that principals’ substantive involvement in instruc- tional leadership is a positive for schools.” Principals who define themselves as instructional leaders typically have the most success, particularly in high-poverty areas, says Karin Chenoweth, writerin-residence at the Education Trust and co-author of Getting It Done: Leading Academic Success in Unexpected Schools. “Traditionally, principals were really not instructional leaders,” she says. “They tended to be building problem-solvers— putting out the little fires. Many aren’t prepared to do that [instructional leadership] job. They were gym teachers, and they had a good relationship with the superintendent. That’s not a good recipe for instructional leadership.” In addition to greater accountability, principals have been thrust into the instructional leadership role due to budget cuts. “At one time, they had a curriculum director who was the go-to person when looking to implement the new math series or the new reading series,” says Rob Monson, president of the National Association of Elementary School Principals and principal of Parkston (S.D.) Elementary School. “Now, the principal has become www.DistrictAdministration.com June 2012 51 http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - June 2012

District Administration - June 2012
Contents
From the Editor
News update
Arts update
District Profile
Administrator Profile
Geography Ed for a Flat World
Her Own Brand of Education Reform
Finding a Cure for Senioritis
Principals as Instructional Leaders
CIO news
One Tablet Per Child?
Changing Lives With Assistive Technology
Going Mobile
Student Counsel
New Directions
Product Focus
New Products
Online Edge

District Administration - June 2012